Anime Wings 2014 Games Festival in Rio: Daily

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On the afternoon of Sunday, January 12th, the Anime Wings Games Festival will return to Rio for its 20th edition filling the Centro de Convenções SulAmérica with stands and booths; competitions, games, card-games, the music of K-Pop (Korean pop) and cosplayers (costume play attendees) in celebration of Japanese and Asian popular culture.

Anime Wings 2013, photo courtesy of Flavio Luiz de Mello.

“Currently, cosplay, anime and card-games are a little bit lower in terms of popularity [due to access], but as time passes, they gain strength and are gaining more fans,” Flavio Luiz de Mello, organizer of Anime Wings, told The Rio Times. “Video games, though, already reach a larger group. There are now something you see in the media and find easily in stores.”

Attendees to Anime Wings Games will have plenty to see and do as festival highlights include; the mini toy Expo; lecture and book signing by Brazilian anime voice over artists Luciano Monteiro and Eduardo Borgeth; and the parade of Japanese fashions including, Lolita and Harajuku.

There will also be a cosplay, a popular term that is short for “costume play”, contest wherein participants dress as characters from popular anime (Japanese animated films), manga (Japanese comics), movies, RPGs (role-playing games) and other video and cards games. Winners will be chosen from each category.

Attendees who bring their Nintendo DSes can participate in the Pokemon Nintendo Ds tournament while others can face off against the dance machine and each other during the Dance Dance Revolution Tournament.

Lovers of card games can also take part in ” Yu – Gi- Oh !”, ” Pokémon ” and ” Magic ” battles, among others. Attendees interested in created their own manga can also attend workshops during the festival held by some of the best teachers in the Brazilian market.

“I believe that the popularity of our event,” Luiz de Mello concluded, “is in fact that it is an event by fans for fans and that makes the public happy to be part of it.”

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The Rio Times is an English language publication dedicated to the English speaking foreign community in Rio de Janeiro and Brazil. Beyond keeping up with local events, The Rio Times will also cover issues of specific interest to foreign nationals here. Our mission is to provide the community with local information, and improve their understanding of the Cidade Maravilhosa and Brazil.